]]>https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/extra-date-added-social-media-cafe/feed/0Thursday Thoughtshttps://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/thursday-thoughts/
https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/thursday-thoughts/#respondThu, 28 Dec 2017 13:16:37 +0000https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/?p=532At this time of year, between Christmas and New Year, our thoughts often turn to forward planning. In fact, today I’ve been putting the important dates for 2018 onto my shiny new wall planner! Sometimes the size of the task or the goals we set ourselves seem overwhelming; especially if we have high hopes and […]

At this time of year, between Christmas and New Year, our thoughts often turn to forward planning. In fact, today I’ve been putting the important dates for 2018 onto my shiny new wall planner!

Sometimes the size of the task or the goals we set ourselves seem overwhelming; especially if we have high hopes and aspirations for the coming year. However, I’ve learned that the best way forward is to make some sort of start. Things won’t ever be perfect, but done is better than not started at all and often things can be tweaked and changed as we move forward and as we learn what works for us and what doesn’t.

It’s also really important to celebrate every small success as we move forward, towards those goals. How will you celebrate your achievements in 2018?

]]>https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/thursday-thoughts/feed/0Are you worried about how GDPR will affect your marketing in 2018?https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/worried-gdpr-will-affect-marketing-2018/
https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/worried-gdpr-will-affect-marketing-2018/#respondWed, 20 Dec 2017 20:11:18 +0000https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/?p=525Does your business sell products or services to companies and/or individuals in the UK and/or in Europe? If so, you will be affected by new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which becomes law on 25th May 2018. It’s changing to keep up with the way that data is now, as it was last updated in 1998. […]

Does your business sell products or services to companies and/or individuals in the UK and/or in Europe? If so, you will be affected by new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which becomes law on 25th May 2018. It’s changing to keep up with the way that data is now, as it was last updated in 1998.

After this date, as a company, you will need to have proof that consent was given for every marketing channel that is utilised; email, telephone or text message. If an organisation is found to break the new rules fines could be up to 4% of turnover, or up to 20 million euros.

Many businesses will be emailing out to their client lists to seek the double opt-in consent (companies like Mailchimp now offer this) where the individual verifies their willingness to receive email communications by responding to two emails; but how many will respond positively? Your list may decrease substantially….

So, what’s the answer?

One way forward is to maximise your use of LinkedIn. People join LinkedIn to network and to do business with each other and if you don’t then contact those individuals outside of LinkedIn, then your activities on the platform are not affected by the new regulations.

Why not make growing your LinkedIn network a new year’s resolution in 2018? If you are a premium member you will not only be able to message your first-degree connections (which is available to everyone on the platform) but your second and third-degree connections, too. After GDPR that might be a really useful way of spreading the word about your business!

If you’d like some help getting to grips with LinkedIn, maximising your profile, building your company page, learning how to use the search function etc. then you are warmly invited to attend The Social Media Café on Friday 5th January from 9.30 until 11.30am. Apart from learning more about LinkedIn, you’ll also have an opportunity to network with other local businesses, share ideas and enjoy coffee (or tea!) and plenty of cake. It’s £17.50 per person and you’ll get a printed handbook to refer back to, after the session. We meet at Open Space outside Malvern, Worcestershire. You can book here: https://mediaworks.brushfire.com/events

Take the opportunity of the new GDPR legislation to get LinkedIn working for you and for your business; driving sales forward for you in 2018. If you’re not using LinkedIn for business, you’re missing out on ways to boost your company’s reach and raise your profile.

]]>https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/worried-gdpr-will-affect-marketing-2018/feed/0The Social Media Café – August 17https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/social-media-cafe-august-17/
https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/social-media-cafe-august-17/#respondThu, 10 Aug 2017 11:41:34 +0000https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/?p=507We had a great morning looking at Instagram, setting up accounts and looking at ways that we can promote accounts, raising the profile of our businesses. The next one is Friday 8th September when we’ll be looking at Facebook for Business.

]]>https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/social-media-cafe-august-17/feed/0Boost your business with Instagram at The Social Media Caféhttps://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/boost-business-instagram-social-media-cafe/
https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/boost-business-instagram-social-media-cafe/#respondSun, 30 Jul 2017 17:04:05 +0000https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/?p=502Are you looking to maximise your presence on Instagram? Do you need help telling the visual story of your business? Then come to the Social Media Café! When: Friday 4th August 2017 Where: Open Space, Malvern, WR14 1UT Time: 9.30 – 11.30 am Cost: £17.50 There’ll be coffee, cake and friendly help and advice to […]

]]>Are you looking to maximise your presence on Instagram?
Do you need help telling the visual story of your business?
Then come to the Social Media Café!
When: Friday 4th August 2017
Where: Open Space, Malvern, WR14 1UT
Time: 9.30 – 11.30 am
Cost: £17.50
There’ll be coffee, cake and friendly help and advice to make the most of Instagram for Business.
To book go to https://socialmediacafe_instagram.eventbrite.co.uk

]]>The Social Media Café is meeting once a month to drink coffee (or tea!) eat cake and discuss the social media related issues that are facing you and your business. It’s informative, informal and fun!

]]>https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/youre-invited-social-media-cafe/feed/0How to get to know your customers better, in three easy steps…https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/get-know-customers-better-three-easy-steps/
Fri, 17 Mar 2017 18:47:51 +0000https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/?p=407Following on from the piece about developing a social media plan for your business, I’ve delved deeper into step one; getting to know your customer better. You can read more here

]]>Six steps to developing a social media plan for your businesshttps://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/six-steps/
https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/six-steps/#respondSat, 11 Mar 2017 07:23:11 +0000https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/?p=399 Every business owner knows that their business needs to have a social media plan that integrates with their marketing strategy and, most importantly, delivers measurable results. But the question is how to do it, especially when you’re already busy running your company…. Here are my six steps. 1. Know your customer When you have […]

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Every business owner knows that their business needs to have a social media plan that integrates with their marketing strategy and, most importantly, delivers measurable results.

But the question is how to do it, especially when you’re already busy running your company…. Here are my six steps.

1. Know your customer
When you have a clearly defined idea of who will buy your product or service then you can focus on the social media platforms that they use and discover when they access them. Using this information, you can tailor your posts to reach them at specific times.

2. Listen
Social media is about communication and that’s a two-way street, you can’t just push your message all the time. Social listening is the process of tracking conversations around specific phrases, words or brands (yours and your competitors) and then using what you’ve discovered to create content for your potential customers, to solve their issues, improve customer service and much more. There are various tools and apps which can make this easy.

3. Create content
Start with brainstorming twelve topics that you could write about, one for each month. Try to write 300+ words on each topic. There is much debate on whether longer posts deliver better results, but always go back to your customer – what are they like? Will they lose interest quickly? According to a recent survey the average blog post on WordPress is 280 words. These 12 posts form the basis of your content calendar; they can be reused as a monthly newsletter, or cut down to make shorter social media posts and tweets. The objective should always be to drive your customers and potential customers back to your website or to where you want to make sales.

You can then build an editorial calendar that lists the days and times when you intend to publish blogs, Instagram or Facebook posts etc. You can automate and schedule posts with tools such as Buffer and Hootsuite.

4. Audit
Before you start to post consistently and regularly take a quick audit of where you are on all the social media platforms, how much web traffic you get etc. This will be your
baseline from where you can measure progress, week by week and month by month.

5. Goals
Your social media plan must work in sync with the rest of your business strategy to ensure your overall business goals are met. So, decide what you want to achieve: is it sales, bookings, newsletter sign ups? If it is something less concrete such as increasing brand awareness, how will you measure it? It’s a good idea to set SMART objectives that can be measured. For example, “On Facebook we will share posts that communicate our company products and services. We will achieve this by posting every day and the target is 30 likes, 5 comments and 2 shares.”

6. Review
After a month, evaluate your progress by measuring your revenue, the reach and engagement of your social media platforms, as well as the traffic to your website. Remember to measure what matters to your business. This will enable you to see whether your effort and resources are being used effectively and also allow you to identify any gaps in your strategy or content. There are tools to make this easier. However, each social media platform will have insights and analytics that you can access. Adapt and review your plan accordingly, as it should be a living, evolving document.

Don’t forget to ask your customers how well you’re doing on social media, you could design a survey in Survey Monkey or Typeform.

Once you’ve worked through these six stages you’ll have a clearer idea about what you want to achieve with your social media. If you feel unsure of the next steps or if you need an extra pair of hands to make it work, please get in touch, I’d be delighted to help. My email is esther@onlinemediaworks.co.uk

]]>https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/in-the-news-this-week/feed/0Winning with Enterprise Nationhttps://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/winning-enterprise-nation/
https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/winning-enterprise-nation/#respondSun, 15 Jan 2017 16:35:08 +0000https://onlinemediaworks.co.uk/?p=367I was thrilled to be one of three winners in an Instagram competition with Enterprise Nation this weekend. You can read more here